The red road is a modern English-language concept of the right path of life, as inspired by some of the beliefs found in a variety of Native American spiritual teachings. The term is used primarily in the Pan-Indian and New Age communities,[1][2][3] and rarely among traditional Indigenous people,[2][3] who have terms in their own languages for their spiritual ways.[4] Native Americans' spiritual teachings are diverse. With over 500 federally-recognized tribes in just the US, while some regional practices and beliefs might be similar, the cultures are highly individualized. Individual ceremonies and particular beliefs tend to be unique to the people of these diverse bands, tribes and nations.[2][4][5][6][7][8]

Black Elk

In his book Black Elk Speaks, John G. Neihardt, a non-Native, explored spiritual beliefs as he says they were told to him by Black Elk (1863–1950), an Oglala Lakota.[9] Near the end of his life, Black Elk converted to Catholicism, becoming a catechist, but he also continued to practice Lakota ceremonies.[10] His grandson, George Looks Twice said, "He was comfortable praying with this pipe and his rosary, and participated in Mass and Lakota ceremonies on a regular basis".[11] In the late 20th century, Neihardt's work was criticized as diverging from, and misrepresenting, Lakota beliefs and ceremonies.[12][13]

Neihardt said that Black Elk believed he had an obligation to "help to bring my people back into the sacred hoop, that they might again walk the red road in a sacred manner pleasing to the powers of the universe that are one power."[14] However, Black Elk defined "the red road" as part of the larger, Medicine Wheel concept, not necessarily the same definition that others are using: "Black Elk, in The Sacred Pipe, speaks of the Red Road as the north-south cross of the Medicine Wheel, and the east-west cross as the black or blue road".[15]

"Hear me, four quarters of the world--a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is! Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds.

Great Spirit, Great Spirit, my Grandfather, all over the earth the faces of living things are all alike. With tenderness have these come up out of the ground. Look upon these faces of children without number and with children in their arms, that they may face the wind and walk the good road to the day of quiet.
This is my prayer; hear me now!"

- "Black Elk's Prayer for All Life"[16]

Treatment of addictions

In some modern addiction treatment programs, the idea of the Red Road may be part of the recovery process. Some of these programs are primarily for Native populations, but take a Pan-Indian or New Age approach, through "the Sweat lodge, the Red Road, and the Recovery Medicine Wheel."[17] "Red Road to Recovery" programs are not always run by or for Native people, but may be groups of predominantly non-Native, New Age adherents.[17]

Other recovery programs for Native American and First Nations Peoples, such as the guidelines by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and other government agencies addressing recovery, mental health and Indigenous rights, rather than take a pan-Indian approach, stress that, "while regional practices and language dialects might be similar, each tribe is unique and caution should be used to avoid generalizations"[5] and that, among "more than 2 million people in 300-500 different American Indian tribal groups, each with its own culture and responses to specific situations... Belief and practices vary widely from tribe to tribe."[6][7]

Mainstream usage

The phrase "The Red Road" has been picked up by many non-Native adherents of New Age and hippie lifestyles, based on their interpretation of Native American spirituality.[1] Critics have accused such followers of cultural appropriation and misrepresentation.[2][3][18][8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 McGaa, Ed, Rainbow Tribe: Ordinary People Journeying on the Red Road. HarperCollins, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Deloria, Philip J., Playing Indian. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0-300-08067-4. Chapter Six: "Counterculture Indians and the New Age"
  3. 1 2 3 Huhndorf, Shari Michelle, Going Native: Indians in the American Cultural Imagination. Cornell University Press, 2001. p.164
  4. 1 2 Native American Stories of the Sacred: Annotated & Explained, 2005- Page xi "One unifying feature of Native American belief is the concept of the "Red Road", though each tribe and nation also has its own name for it. Black Elk speaks of the Red Road in the book The Sacred Pipe."
  5. 1 2 "Mental Health Essentials in Native Communities: A Guide for Grantees" (PDF). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2018-05-01. Retrieved 2021-10-29. It is important to note, while regional practices and language dialects might be similar, each tribe is unique and caution should be used to avoid generalizations.
  6. 1 2 Children's Medical Center Pediatric Palliative Care Team. "Cultural Approaches to Pediatric Palliative Care in Central Massachusetts: Native American Spirituality". University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Retrieved 2021-10-29. More than 2 million people in 300-500 different American Indian tribal groups, each with its own culture and responses to specific situations. Belief and practices vary widely from tribe to tribe.
  7. 1 2 "Indigenous spiritual practices". Ontario Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 2021-10-29. Indigenous peoples practice diverse spiritual traditions in Ontario, reflecting the diversity of Indigenous peoples in Ontario and Canada.
  8. 1 2 G. Hobson, "The Rise of the White Shaman as a New Version of Cultural Imperialism." in: Hobson, Gary, ed. The Remembered Earth. Albuquerque, NM: Red Earth Press; 1978: 100-108.
  9. ↑ Neihardt, John G. (1932, William Morrow & Company) Black Elk Speaks
  10. ↑ Jon Sweeney, "The saint who danced for Queen Victoria," The Tablet, 23 January 2021, 10-11. Sweeney is also author of the book, Nicholas Black Elk: Medicine Man, Catechist, Saint (Liturgical Press, 2020) ISBN 0814644163
  11. ↑ Petersen, Kirk (2018-08-25). "Vatican considers sainthood for Black Elk". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  12. ↑ DeMallie, Raymond (Nebraska University Press, 1985). The Sixth Grandfather: Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt, ISBN 0803265646. Introduction and notes throughout the book.
  13. ↑ Carl Silvio Archived 2007-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, Internet Public Library, academic arguments on authorship, translation, and interpretation for prospective audiences have been written by Carl Silvio, among others. Note: This site has been superseded since 2010 by www.ipl2.org, a consortium of universities, accessed 19 June 2011
  14. ↑ Willis Goth Regier, Masterpieces of American Indian Literature. U of Nebraska Press, 2005, p. 580. ISBN 0-8032-8997-9.
  15. ↑ Evan T. Pritchard, Native American Stories of the Sacred: Annotated & Explained, Sky Light Illuminations: 2005. Quote: "Black Elk, in The Sacred Pipe, speaks of the Red Road as the north-south cross of the Medicine Wheel, and the east-west cross as the black or blue road, the way we ..."
  16. ↑ Walker, "A Social Ethical Analysis of BLACK ELK SPEAKS", Southern Methodist University.
  17. 1 2 RD VICK, LM Smith, CIR Herrera - The healing circle: An alternative path to alcoholism recovery Counseling and Values, 1998 - Wiley Online Library "... Therefore, the incorporation of tribal spiritual teachings and practices into the recovery process can be crucial to its success. Three elements are central to the recovery process: the Sweat Lodge, the Red Road, and the Recovery Medicine Wheel."
  18. ↑ Aldred, Lisa, "Plastic Shamans and Astroturf Sun Dances: New Age Commercialization of Native American Spirituality" in: The American Indian Quarterly issn.24.3 (2000) pp.329-352. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
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